When
I first saw the trailer for To the Moon, I was floored. Its 3 minute promo elicited more emotions in
a game than anything I’ve played in the past 3 years. And it was a 16-bit RPG! From everything I saw, it was a win. But did it meet those fanboy expectations?

In
To the Moon, you “play” as two memory scientists who are part of a company
called the Sigmund Corporation. The
Sigmund Corporation specializes in diving into patient’s memories and changing
their attitudes and aspirations by changing their memories. They are hired by a dying, elderly man named
Johnny Wyles who’s one dream in life was to go to the moon. Our scientists travel back in time through
his memories to find out more about this aspiration and make his dream come
true – at least in memory. Through this
journey back in time, we are taken through a drama that involves friendships,
romance and relationships.

To
the Moon is a storied experience developed by Freebird Games and released in
the latter part of 2011. To call To the
Moon a game would be a very loose and arguable statement. It is not really a game in the conventional
sense. You’re never really challenged
and there are no odds that you’re to overcome.
It is more of a storytelling experience, under the guise of a 16-bit RPG. The experience is heavily authored. Those looking for an in-depth and challenging
gaming experience need to turn away, this isn’t for you.

Story
here is the goal, not gameplay or mechanics.
You move, point and click at things.
Once in a blue moon, you need to solve a picture puzzle to progress
further. That is pretty much the extent
of gameplay. The vast majority of the
game is watching characters and reading text.
Early on in the game, it even teases the player that there might be
combat (but there is none to be found).

I’m
at odds with how I feel about the experience.
I mean, when I sit down to game, I want to game. When I want to read a book, I'll read a
book. When I want to see a movie, I'll
see a movie. I don’t know if I was
bamboozled, but I didn’t get what I expected.
But the story, although sort of Inception-y, was interesting. As a game though, I wanted more and
unfortunately, there was not a hook.

That
said, the soundtrack is delightful, and to me, is probably the most memorable
aspect about the game. For a game that
spans around 4 hours, they do well in establishing a memorable theme that’s
intertwined with the story as well. The
soundtrack is a wonderful homage to the 16-bit era.

For
me, overall it was thumbs in the middle experience. I can’t give it a hard recommend, but if
you’re curious enough with what the story is about, it wouldn’t hurt. I guess on the plus side, it’s only $10 (I
got it for $8 on sale on Steam though!) and will only eat up 3-4 hours of your
time. Til next time, later geeks.